Fog
by Reign of Rayne
Summary: In which Ace was captured by the marines soon after Sabo was presumed killed, and things go downhill from there.
1. Chapter 1

_In which I can't get my act together and focus on one thing for more than a day._

* * *

 **Fog**

* * *

Sabo had been sent to infiltrate the marines' secret lab months ago. He'd taken half that time just to get clearance in order to get his foot in the door, and the rest building up trust from his colleagues. Everything about the facility was clean: blue tile floors, chrome tables, white walls and ceilings. It even smelled clean, so much so that Sabo's nose often burned for the first ten minutes of his work day. The lab had three main spaces: Laboratory 1, Laboratory 2, and Laboratory 3, respectively. There were other spaces, lower spaces, basement levels—but Sabo wasn't there yet. He needed more time.

Right now, he was working on synthesizing new types of Sea Stone in Lab 3. He'd long since claimed this back corner for himself, and no one ever bothered him here. Of course, the marines didn't have to know that Sabo was repeating research the Revolutionaries had tried years ago. Sabo knew already that his experiments would fail. The marines did not. The interim between those points was all the time Sabo had to investigate this facility, which was hidden away in a perpetually-foggy sector in the Grand Line.

Sabo hated the island. He hated the labs and the scientists that worked them. There was no spark, no life. These people were completely consumed by their research. Sabo doubted that any of them even understood the ramifications of what they were doing.

"Dr. Laurenotiovy," someone called. Sabo glanced up at the call. "Laurenotiovy" was his false identity—to be more accurate, Dr. Argent Laurenotiovy. It was an obvious trick, but in a room full of geniuses, not one had realized it.

"Yes?" Sabo replied, turning to see a short, balding man in a white lab coat approaching. "Can I help you?"

"You've been reassigned," the scientist said. Sabo raised an eyebrow, setting down the samples he had been working with and fully facing the new arrival.

"Reassigned? I have not finished my research here."

The man nodded. "Yes, we realize. Walk with me?"

Without much choice, Sabo acquiesced. "So, my reassignment."

"Indeed. The higher-ups and myself—the head of your new research project—have decided that your skills with Sea Stone and interpersonal maneuvering—don't think I didn't see you work your way to that corner—would be better suited for a different project."

The scientist opened one of the restricted doors within Lab 3. Beyond was a simple hallway, flanked with some offices and bookended by another doorway at the far end. That doorway was heavy steel, tinted just blue enough that Sabo guessed that it wasn't pure metal. There was Sea Stone in it.

Sabo felt a thrill of fear run up his spine. Was he discovered? Was this scientist walking him into an ambush?

"What is this about?" Sabo asked carefully.

"I'm afraid I cannot tell you anything until we reach a less public area," the scientist replied. Concerns not at all assuaged, Sabo could only follow him down the hallway. This entire operation had been one calculated risk on Dragon's part; what was one more?

They went to the door. Sabo watched the scientist insert a key and then enter a passcode to open it. Combined with the heaviness of the door, it was the most security Sabo had ever seen in a marine base. A camera watched with an unblinking eye while Sabo followed the scientist through. The door closed behind them; the only way forward led to the elevator several yards away.

They stepped inside and the scientist hit the down button. There were no individual floor numbers. Only up or down. The elevator jerked into motion.

"Now that we're away from eavesdroppers," the scientist said, startling Sabo out of his observations, "I can go into more detail."

Sabo clasped his hands behind his back and offered a cool smile. "Please."

"The project is known as Project Ember. It's been running for just over a decade, with a single subject that we have been cataloguing observations of."

"Only one subject?"

"Yes. One subject, kept in a maximum security room for all of our safety." The elevator came to a halt and dinged. "Trust me, seeing it will be believing it. This way."

Sabo followed the man down a few hallways. They split off to the right at the next fork and the scientist once more entered a passcode to open the door—the same code as the first door, if Sabo wasn't mistaken. Beyond was a simple room filled with monitoring equipment, but none of the equipment was focused on the observation room. Rather, it was focused on the space separated from the observation room by a thick pane of glass.

Beyond that pane was fire. Sabo stepped forward, curiosity piqued. It was a room, easily thirty feet square, with a completely white walls. The whole things appeared to be on fire, but Sabo saw no smoke. What was this?

As though to answer the question, the scientist approached the glass and tapped it. He glanced at Sabo. "Just you wait. He hates me more than anyone; you'll see quite the demonstration when he realizes just who's come knocking."

Unsure how to respond, Sabo stepped up to the glass as well.

The fire suddenly splashed down to the center of the room and then rushed the glass, breaking against it like a wave. Sabo flinched back on instinct and then heard the other scientist chuckling, entirely unfazed.

"Oh, don't worry. He does that all the time. He won't get out." He? The first instance clearly wasn't a mistake, then. Ignorant of Sabo's unasked question, the scientist tapped the glass. Upon closer inspection, Sabo could see little blue veins running through it. "Laced with Sea Stone, designed specifically to hold him in. And, if he gets too rowdy…"

On cue, a warning light flared to life on the far wall inside of the cell. The fire, which had smashed against the glass another three times, dispersed around the room but kept several feet away from the light. Sabo took a step forward, transfixed.

"What's happening?" he asked. Movement below caught his eye and he glanced down. Horror flowed through him, barely contained behind the mask of the intrigued scientist Sabo had plastered on his face to hide it. "Seawater?"

Small holes had opened up in the floor and water was gushing out of them. The fire went higher and higher, but more holes opened up in the walls. With nowhere to go, it was only a matter of time before the fire made contact. The second the water touched it, the fire all concentrated in one spot and faded. Confused, Sabo blinked. There was a man there now. A young man—probably Sabo's age, in his late teens or very early twenties. He was clothed in simple pants and a shirt. For a single second, he remained on his feet with the water pooling around his ankles. Then he staggered, one arm flailing for support and finding none, and fell. The water splashed around him. He made no move to rise.

"Is he going to drown?" Sabo asked, his clinically detached tone betraying none of the revulsion beneath.

"Oh, of course not," the scientist said. He pushed a button and the water began to drain away the same way it had come in. "He is far too valuable a test subject." As the water trickled away, Sabo examined what he could see of the man's features. Sun-kissed skin, black hair, but musculature that indicated heavy exercise.

"Do you exercise him?" Sabo asked. "He appears to be in very good condition."

"Yes, we do," the scientist replied. "See the marks on his wrists?" Sabo did: tan lines. "When we bring him to the exercise yard, he has to wear Sea Stone cuffs. It keeps him from getting any ideas, though he's had some in the past." Sabo's eyes finally picked out the scars on the man's skin. There were many. "He is designated as subject A-7. We caught him…oh, nine, ten years ago? Fed him the Mera Mera no Mi, and have been observing him ever since. Logia types are among the most powerful of Devil Fruits, so we've been experimenting with ways to combat them with all types of Sea Stone."

Pushing through his hesitation, Sabo asked, "What kinds of types?"

"Oh, the works. The usual cuffs, bullets, blades, blunt weapons, gas. I believe the most recent round was injections, which are extremely effective but seem to have no consistent effects. Nearly killed him with those, and that would've been a waste."

"Yes, truly," Sabo agreed on autopilot. He was staring at the subject, the man, again. He had shifted, slowly getting his arms and knees under him before he pushed himself up. Seawater dripped from his hair. From what Sabo knew about Devil Fruits, there was no way for him to activate his Devil Fruit powers until dry. Sabo waited for him to just turn his back to the glass but, to his surprise, the man faced them. His eyes skipped right over Sabo and focused on the scientist.

And his eyes. They _burned_. Not literally, not with the seawater, but there was a maelstrom of hate raging within them. Sabo snuck a glance at the scientist; for all that he had flippantly brushed aside the subject's earlier anger, he was clearly shaken by this.

The man got to his feet. He swayed for a moment and then steadied himself. Slowly, one step at a time, he approached the glass. When he got close, he slammed an open hand against it, right at the scientist's face. The subject growled something, face contorted in hate, but there was no sound.

"It's soundproofed," the scientist said, giving Sabo a shaky smile that was obviously meant to be encouraging. Clearing his throat, the scientist turned his back on the subject and walked over to the nearest terminal. "This way. I'll show you what we have to far and what we want you to do. The guidelines are very loose. I have a multitude of other projects to oversee; you'll be on your own here, but if there are any problems, please," his gaze turned hungry, "inform me."

"I will," Sabo said. He most certainly would not.

The briefing passed quickly. Every now and then, Sabo snuck glances over his shoulder while the scientist was distracted. The subject was still at the glass, but not touching it. Just standing there. The contact he'd made with it earlier had made him visibly pale, and while the concentration wasn't enough to incapacitate him like seawater, it was enough to deter him from prolonged or repeated contact. He just watched, and every time Sabo looked up, they made eye contact.

Sabo couldn't read anything from him except rage. It was chilling.

"And that's all," the scientist finished. "Any questions?"

"Just one," Sabo said, recalling one inconsistency he'd heard. He pointed to one of the spreadsheets spread out on the nearby table. "This is the spreadsheet for the fourth round of testing, correct? It appears that whoever did the data entry put in the same data for the fourth as they did for the third. Would you like me to correct it?"

The scientist blinked. "Ah." Sabo immediately knew that this man had been the one to make the mistake. "Actually, the fourth trial must have been a misfile. Please erase the fourth trial entirely."

"Certainly."

"Do that, and you can be done for the day," the scientist said. He rummaged around in his lab coat and pulled out a key. "Here's your key. The access code is 7-3-3-1-8. Don't forget."

Sabo inclined his head. "Of course."

The instant the scientist left, Sabo did a quick check of all the surveillance equipment. Just as he'd expected, there were no devices set up to monitor the observation room. For all intents and purposes, he was invisible.

Ignoring the feeling of A-7—no, the man, because the designation was dehumanizing and Sabo didn't need to contend with that in his mind—staring at the back of his head, Sabo quickly set about doing what the scientist had asked him to. The task took no time at all, but Sabo had always been a quick study with new technology. He had twenty or so minutes before his continued presence became odd.

He shut down the computer and stood. There were scattered papers and some pens on the nearby table. Sabo quickly took a pen and scrawled out a message on the paper. It read: _Name?_ And then, below that: _You are being watched. There is a blind spot at about chest height where you are currently standing because I am in the way._

Finished, Sabo took his paper and, after angling himself to block the camera—making sure to make it look casual and unintentional—he pressed the paper to the glass.

The man's eyes immediately switched from Sabo's face to the page. His brows furrowed, the anger dissipating into suspicion mixed with confusion. Sabo watched him read and then, when he assumed the man was done, tapped the _Name?_ request.

It had been a gamble as to whether or not the man could read, but apparently he could. The man's gaze flicked between Sabo's eyes and the paper a couple of times. Sabo kept his expression neutral and didn't move. After several seconds, the man narrowed his eyes. He lifted a finger and wrote in the air above his chest, reversed for Sabo's benefit: A-C-E. The burning letters quickly vanished, but Sabo had gotten them. He nodded once and then looked up at Ace. He could make no promises now, but there was a plan forming in his head.

Sabo couldn't contact the Revolutionary Army on this island without blowing his cover. He would have to be sure about Ace before he did anything drastic, but he knew in his gut that Ace was the greatest secret this facility was hiding. The marines would do anything to hide that they were doing human experimentation. No wonder the observation room wasn't monitored; they didn't want the identities of the scientists exposed if things did get out.

Ace, not clued into Sabo's thoughts, frowned. He seemed to be expecting more. Sabo shook his head slightly and quickly destroyed the paper. He'd hidden it from the cameras and kept it hidden while he cleaned up. He didn't look at Ace before he left the observation room and shut the door behind him.

* * *

The next day, before engaging at all with Ace, Sabo checked the computers. Sure enough, there were old files about Ace receiving a rudimentary education. More than once a researcher had remarked about Ace's intelligence, or his ingenuity. This was no dulled genius; Ace was keeping his mind sharp.

Good.

The night of thought and rest had further solidified Sabo's intentions. Ace was a prisoner, a torture victim, imprisoned here against his will under so much secrecy that Sabo doubted there was anyone outside of this place who knew he existed.

But, beneath that cold logic, there was something else. Something familiar about Ace and the rage in his eyes. That was all emotional, however, and not reason enough on its own.

Ace remained dispersed as fire while Sabo investigated the computers. Sabo began a new document for field notes that the head scientist would undoubtedly be checking. He put in some lies about checking 'Subject A-7's' mental state through written commands and questions and then grabbed a paper, pen, and clipboard.

Seeing Ace form out of the fire was less disconcerting when he did it willingly. He strode up to the glass, eyes flicking to the nearest camera for a second before landing on Sabo's with a question in them. The suspicion was still there, and it was warranted.

Sabo scrawled out another note. This one described the fake 'research' Sabo was doing. Sabo held up the notepad and then, before Ace could break eye contact to read it, meaningfully jerked his head at the camera. The message was clear: Ace was being watched.

Ace's eyebrows dropped low over his eyes. This close, Sabo could see every detail of the scars stretching over his skin. They were numerous and varied in type; some were even and clean, clearly caused by bladed weapons, while others were messy knots. There were a few clear burn scars on Ace's left arm, but when Sabo looked closer, he realized that the burns formed letters.

It hit him all at once. Ace had burned those letters into himself: A-S-C-E, with the 'S' crossed out. Some kind of reminder about his past?

Ace finished reading and looked back up at Sabo with a blank expression. If he was acting, he was damned good: Sabo could not tell whether the anger in his eyes was real or faked. Probably both.

Following the directions Sabo had written, Ace backed up five steps and then, per the instructions, did a handstand. He held it for precisely twenty seconds before dropping down and doing ten perfect push-ups. Sabo made a note on his clipboard like the scientist he was pretending to be that Ace understood commands and numbers. Ace stood straight and walked back over.

Sabo wrote out new commands and held them up.

So the day passed. Ace never seemed to tire, as though whatever exercises Sabo had him do were well within his physical capabilities. At precisely 12 o'clock noon, a slot opened up in the far wall of Ace's cell and food dropped out: bars, some fruit, and a few other things that Ace ate too quickly for Sabo to identify. There was also another slot in the wall that opened whenever Ace approached that would dispense water in a fountain. Ace would drink and walk away, and the water would automatically stop and the slot would close.

The longer Sabo spent with Ace, the more disgusted he became with the way the scientists treated him. Over the next week, multiple other scientists involved with the project stopped by to visit. As Sabo was still under the pretext of gaining a complete physical understanding of Ace, he could deflect any of their requests or pushes for more invasive 'testing.' His stomach curled every time.

At the same time, the more Sabo worked with Ace, the more Ace seemed to trust him. So, during the middle of the second week, when Sabo put up his latest message, Ace hid his surprised reaction within a second. He glanced up at Sabo, as though to make certain. Sabo, his back to the camera, grinned.

The next day, Sabo set his plan in motion. He'd been building up to it for days now, setting all the seeds of destruction he needed, and a few extra for good measure. All the pieces were ready. He just had to set them in motion.

Nerves sparking with excitement and mind awash with eagerness to finally escape this place, Sabo approached the glass with his clipboard for the last time. There was only one word written on it: _Now_.

The second after Sabo held it up for Ace to see, the facility's power cut out. Ace immediately turned one hand to fire so Sabo could see in the otherwise pitch-black, windowless space. Sabo drew his hand back and then struck the glass with his signature Dragon Claw style. The glass cracked. One more blow shattered it, and the shards rained down.

Ace whistled, startling Sabo. He'd never heard Ace make a sound before, an observation that had never properly struck him until now. "Impressive," Ace said. His voice was deep and a little rough around the edges, with the hint of what Sabo guessed was an East Blue accent. "I guess you were serious."

Sabo nodded. "I am. Now follow me. We have little time."

"On one condition," Ace said, stopping Sabo.

"What?" Sabo asked, impatience sharpening his tone. Ace had been perfectly fine with the plan after Sabo explained it to him the first time, and he'd gone into painstaking detail on all those pages.

"Whoever we run across," Ace said, whole body seeming to pulse with heat, "whoever they are to you, they're _mine_."

Sabo had no pity to spare. He nodded.

They exited into the hallway. Sabo led the way, the route locked into his mind. Ace turned any scientist he saw to ash immediately. Without power, there was no way for them to raise an alarm. Sabo opened the door at the top of the stairwell, strode down the hallway, and then paused before the final door that led into Lab 3. Using his Haki, he counted the number of people in the room. Twenty-eight.

"Ace," he murmured. "There are a lot of them. The whole room is a lab dedicated to studying Sea Stone. If one of them gets to it before you get to them—"

Ace's eyes glimmered in the firelight from his hand. "They won't."

He slipped past Sabo and, to Sabo's surprise, shut the door in Sabo's face. Sabo resisted the immediate urge to open the door and waited. Light and heat streamed into the corridor around the door's edges. Sabo held a hand up to the door but did not touch; the heat emanating from the metal was enough to hurt even without direct contact.

After a minute, the light faded and the door opened. Ace was back to just burning his hand, limiting Sabo's ability to observe the room with his eyes, but Haki provided a more than adequate answer to his questions. Ace had shown no mercy.

"Where to now?" Ace asked.

Sabo led the way to the other off-limits door. It had taken hours of careful hacking to find the facility's blueprints, but the effort had paid off. This door led to a private dock reserved for high-level visitors. Right now, there weren't any, but several upper-echelon scientists kept private craft there—most likely, in case Ace broke out.

Ace paused once they went through the door. Sabo did too, wondering if the shock of the open air was too much for him. "Ace?"

"One sec." Ace held his hands by the edges of the steel door and they glowed with heat. The metal soon began to melt. Within a minute the door was fused shut.

"Nice planning," Sabo commented. Ace smirked.

"I've been thinking about escape for a while. This was just one of my ideas."

"The others?"

"Not applicable. Are we going or what, traitor scientist?"

"Sabo," Sabo corrected. "My name is Sabo."

Ace froze. "What?"

Hearing noise on the other side of the door, Sabo grabbed Ace's arm and yanked him down the dock, which was shrouded in fog that had seeped in through the boathouse's open entrance.

"Freeze later, move now," he said.

Most of the craft wouldn't last on the Grand Line's seas, but Sabo found the one that two people could reasonably sail and quickly boarded. He'd loaded it up with supplies the previous day, swimming through the shallow waters nearest to the island.

Only after they'd escaped onto the open water did Sabo realize that he'd actually touched Ace. He had felt completely human; his skin was warmer than someone else's might be, sure, but that was all.

Sabo's grip on the wheel tightened. Those scientists had known exactly what they were doing. Sabo didn't regret what would happen next at all.

Some ten minutes after the facility was lost to sight in the fog, when Ace had joined Sabo in the wheelhouse, they both heard a muffled boom and then, a few seconds later, a massive wave rocked the boat. Sabo, expecting it, was unfazed. Ace nearly fell but caught himself. Sabo kept his face carefully blank while Ace stared. Finally, Ace shook his head.

"You're not a marine," he said. "Not even a traitor. And you're definitely not a pirate. Who are you?"

Sabo locked the wheel into position and then faced Ace. "Are you sure you want to know?"

Ace crossed his arms. Outside of the facility, with natural light softening his features, he looked completely human. Sabo finally realized that he had freckles dotted across his face, a feature that had escaped him until this point. "I do," Ace said. "You broke me out. Why?"

"My mission," Sabo said, "was to infiltrate that secret facility and ascertain its purpose. Basically, I was sent to find out why the marines were going through all the trouble of keeping it hidden. It took me months to get inside in any position of value."

"Your mission?"

Sabo nodded. "My mission. Turns out the reason was you, which is why I was so quick to break you out."

"And why you've held on to printed out records," Ace said dryly, jerking his chin at the papers in the satchel by Sabo's foot.

"Exactly," Sabo said.

Ace ran a hand through his hair, dislodging some of the water droplets that had accumulated there thanks to the fog. "So, who sent you on this mission? You never answered my question."

Blunt. "I am a member of the Revolutionary Army," Sabo said. Ace's brows furrowed.

"How long have you been with the Revolutionary Army?"

"Roughly ten years."

Something was going on behind Ace's eyes, but Sabo couldn't figure it out. "What were you doing before that?"

Sabo shrugged, returning his gaze to the ocean stretching out in front of their boat, now visible through the thinning fog. "Dunno. There was an accident; I lost my memory."

Ace closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He stayed like that for several seconds, and Sabo couldn't figure out why. When he glanced up, his expression was clear. "So, Mr. Sabo-the-Revolutionary-Agent, where are we headed?"

It was a change in subject, but not one that Sabo minded. He smiled.

"Home."

* * *

 _Until next time,_

 _-RoR_

 ** _Please review._**


	2. Chapter 2

_*shows up to a story I marked as complete a year ago with a new chapter and coffee* Yo._

* * *

 **2**

* * *

"Shots?"

"They're required," Sabo said, not entirely unsympathetic. "I know you don't like needles—"

"That's an understatement."

"—but we have to make sure you're immunized. They kept you in isolation for years. I'm sure there are diseases around this base that you're not equipped to handle."

Ace's eyes darted to the two nurses preparing the shots behind Sabo. His knuckles were white from the force behind his grip on the edge of the examination bed. "I can just burn it all out of me."

"Do you know that for sure? Do you really want to do that every time you develop symptoms? What if it doesn't work?"

Ace scowled but didn't argue further. When Sabo made to leave, though, Ace's hand shot out and fastened around his wrist. "Wait," he muttered, head bowed and expression shaded by his hair. "Just—just stay."

After glancing at the nurses for their approval, Sabo nodded. "I'll be right here. I won't let them do anything to you."

Ace's shoulders rose and fell as he took a deep breath. Sabo knew his wrist was going to bruise, but he kept any hint of pain from his voice.

"Okay," Ace said, raising his head and fixing the nurses with a steely glare. "Get it over with."

The first shot came and went. Sabo's tendons shifted over the bones in his wrist and he hid a wince.

"Two more," the blond nurse said reassuringly. "You're doing great."

"Thanks," Ace bit out. He was staring hard at the far wall.

Ace weathered the second shot with the same tenuous equilibrium. Sabo took to subtly reinforcing his arm with armament Haki; Ace was so focused on the wall that he didn't even notice the black sheen on Sabo's skin.

"Last one."

The instant the last needle was out for good, Ace shot to his feet, released Sabo's wrist, and fled into the hallway. Sabo took the disinfectant wipe and bandage from the nurses, reassured them that Ace was probably fine, and chased after him. Ace hadn't gone far; he was just pacing outside, right hand spread over where the shots had gone in without touching. He didn't hear Sabo approach. When Sabo got close, though, Ace froze and spun to face him, one fist burning to flame that lit up the whole hallway in flickering red light. Sabo held up his hands.

"Just me," he said. "I'm not here to hurt you."

After a second, Ace let out a shaky breath, straightened, and released his fire. He leaned his back up against the wall, his gaze going to his shoulder, where a drop of fresh blood gleamed under the fluorescent lights.

"Can I put this on?" Sabo asked, holding up the bandage. Ace stared at him for a moment and then nodded. Sabo quickly cleaned his shoulder and spread the bandage over it. Ace stared.

"Pink?" he murmured. He glanced up, and his pupils weren't blown wide from panic anymore. "Sorry. I couldn't stay in there."

"I understand. You don't need to apologize."

Ace shook his head. "No, it's—" he sighed. "They'd strap me down, stuff—stuff something in my mouth, and just…" he pantomimed shoving a needle into his own arm. Sabo carefully suppressed a wave of anger on Ace's behalf. That facility was burned to the grown, blown up and scattered across the Grand Line. They would never be able to do that to him again. "And then they'd just stand there, and watch, and wait."

Morbid curiosity nudged Sabo's tongue. "What were they waiting for?"

Ace raised a hand and stared at it, gray eyes blank. "I don't know. They all did—the shots—they did different things. I don't even remember all of them."

Sabo waited, but Ace didn't say anything else. "You're being rather trusting of me," he said carefully.

For some reason, that made Ace smirk. The former prisoner shook his head a little and pushed off the wall. "Yeah, well, you're the guy that broke me out. I don't know anyone else here. Options are a bit limited these days. What's next on your little arrival agenda?"

"We need to speak with Dragon."

"What, like an actual dragon?"

"No, the leader of the Revolutionary Army. Monkey D. Dragon."

Ace stumbled but caught himself and waved Sabo off. "Yeah, sure. 'Course he's named M—ah, Dragon."

"I've already briefed him on the basics," Sabo said, "but he wanted to hear more from you in person."

"So that's where you disappeared to earlier."

"Yes. Some of the documents I procured were time-sensitive, and I figured it best to get them into the right hands as soon as possible. I ran into Dragon in the middle of that errand."

"He doesn't sound like the kind of guy you just 'run into'."

"You'd be surprised."

Sabo led the way up the stairwell, both their footsteps echoing. Ace stuck close to him, and Sabo found himself focusing on that. That strange feeling Ace stirred in him would not go away. If anything, it had grown more distracting the longer Sabo spent around Ace. Was Ace someone he used to know? But no, he'd been in that lab for so long…

Shaking his head, Sabo pushed open the door on the next landing and held it for Ace, who slowed to a stop when he saw the space beyond. Revolutionaries filled the massive room, working at desks and tables alike. The whole room buzzed with noise and activity. To their left, a woman broke out into raucous laughter at her friend's joke. Just behind her, someone dropped a mug that shattered loud enough to make everyone nearby reach for their weapons. Someone's snail was ringing.

Wonder filled Ace's expression as he took it all in. Sabo kept a careful eye on him, wondering if this much noise would be overwhelming. But Ace, once the wonder was tempered with exposure, seemed more at ease than he had ever been before. He glanced back at Sabo, and while wariness still lurked in the creases of his face, he managed a lighthearted tone.

"So, where's this Dragon's office?"

"Through the maze," Sabo said, indicating a door on the opposite side of the room. If Ace was daunted, he didn't show it. Still, he let Sabo take the lead. Catching Koala's eye from several desks away, Sabo shook his head a little. He'd tell her the details later once he got Ace settled in. Seeming to get the message, Koala returned to her talk with a young man all but buried in papers.

"Know her?" Ace asked from behind Sabo.

"I know everyone," Sabo tossed over his shoulder, which was such a blatant lie that he got a few scoffs from the people in earshot. He knew Ace heard them too, but he decided not to defend himself. That was what a guilty man would do. And Sabo, naturally, had never been guilty a day in his life. Being guilty required that the judge and jury still be around to sentence him.

Ace slowed down. Sabo paused and glanced back. "What's wrong?"

"The shots," Ace said. He frowned. "I was expecting the effects by now."

"The effects?"

"Yeah. The numbness, the nausea, the burning, the…" he trailed off. "Those things aren't normal, are they?"

"No. I mean, the needle tips were made from sea stone, so I'd expect some odd feelings in that area for a few minutes, but the effects wouldn't be delayed like that." Ace scowled. "It's necessary. Otherwise they would just go right through you."

Ace rubbed his shoulder where the obnoxiously bright bandage was stained with the tiniest spot of crimson. "Doesn't mean I have to like it."

"No one said you did. Though, if you do feel anything that's not…if you feel something that approaches your usual bounds, say something."

"Yeah, sure."

The next time Ace stopped, Sabo didn't notice for several steps. He had to backtrack through a sudden line of revolutionaries all fighting over some specific document—one from the lab Sabo had blown up. Forcing his way through, Sabo found Ace staring at the wall of bounty posters, back and shoulders rigid. Sabo approached warily, unsure why Ace was so tense.

"Ace?" He followed Ace's gaze. He couldn't see exactly which poster had Ace so transfixed, but the man was unresponsive. Sabo walked up to the board and made his best guess: a new player on the field, some upstart kid from the East Blue who had managed to defeat Arlong. Most of the other posters around it were members of that kid's crew.

"This who's got your attention?" Sabo asked, pointing to the poster. Ace blinked and finally seemed to realize Sabo was there.

"Do you know him?" Ace asked.

Sabo frowned. "We keep track of any pirates of interest. This kid looks like he'll cause a lot of headaches for the marines, so we're keeping an eye on him."

Ace approached the board. "Luffy," he muttered, scrutinizing the picture like it was some kind of treasure map. Sabo frowned.

"Do _you_ know him?"

Ace shook himself out of his trance. "Not—no, not really." He cleared his throat and stepped back. "Let's just meet this Dragon guy."

It was a sloppy change in subject that Sabo let slide. Ace hadn't slept much at all on their journey to the base; Sabo could forgive him the occasional slip.

"What's this guy like?" Ace asked while they wove their way through the room.

"He's a little hard to put into words. Serious, I suppose. Focused."

"Anything I should know?"

"Not that I could think of."

"You're not all that helpful."

"Hard to be when I don't know what you're looking for." Sabo turned sideways to avoid being hit by a man carrying a stack of files half again his height. "What do you want me to say?"

"Dunno. I had some manners lessons when I was really little. They stuck in my head."

"The marines taught you manners?"

"Fuck no." Ace spat the words with venom on his tongue, drawing a few curious stares. "No, this was from…from before I was captured."

Ace hadn't said much at all about that. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Sabo expected the answer to be a nice, even _no_. To his surprise, Ace paused and looked back at him, then at Dragon's door. He narrowed his eyes. "Actually, yeah. I do."

Finding a back room that was relatively insulated from the madness outside, Sabo left the door cracked open slightly and sat on the table. Ace stuck to the wall next to the door, arms crossed and one finger tapping restlessly against his bicep. Sabo had a couple guesses why Ace was suddenly interested in delaying their talk with Dragon. The most likely hypothesis was that Ace suspected Dragon might for some reason kick him out of the Revolutionary Army hideout, and he was in no position to be left on his own yet.

"So you know the pirate Luffy," Sabo started, since Ace didn't seem inclined to take initiative. Ace nodded, eyes switching from the tiny window on the wall to Sabo's right to Sabo's face. His focus was so disconcerting. He was always looking for something, but Sabo couldn't figure out what.

"Yeah. He was my brother."

"Your brother?" Sabo could see some resemblance, he supposed. "He wasn't captured?"

Ace shook his head. "No. He got away. Kinda forced him to. I didn't know for sure until just now that he'd escaped those bastards."

Sabo didn't have any family, but he could guess the mental burden of that kind of uncertainty. Ace's torture was bad enough, but the fear of his brother enduring the same? That could break a man. "I can assure you he has been wreaking some rather serious havoc. He seems to have a particular distaste for marine bases."

Ace looked down at the floor. "Not too surprising, really." He glanced up and swallowed. "You don't think he's looking for me, do you?"

"It's possible."

Ace closed his eyes. "That idiot. It's been years. I would've been dead long before he found me."

"But you're not dead."

"And he wasn't the one that found me." That searching look was back. "You did."

"I did, yes."

When Sabo didn't say anything else, Ace sighed and looked away. "We grew up on a small island in the East Blue. Out of the way. Not bothering anyone. Had some bandits, some pirates, but things were fine. 'Til a Celestial Dragon came around." Ace scoffed. "Nothing good ever happens when those assholes appear."

Sabo wholeheartedly agreed. He'd seen enough slavery to last lifetimes, and the Celestial Dragons were at the heart of that bloodied empire.

"My friend—we, I mean Luffy and I and him, swore brotherhood, so really my brother—was trying to escape his stupid parents and the pompous noble prick blew him out of the water."

Sabo's burns itched. He ignored the feeling. "That's terrible."

"Yeah." Ace pushed some hair out of his face but stilled with his hand over his left eye. "I almost lost my whole family that day." He laughed, but it was a broken sound, full of time-numbed pain. "I wasn't there when it counted. Guess the universe has it out for me, you know?"

"With how your brother is searching for you?"

Ace peered out from between his fingers, his smile ragged. "Something like that."

"Do you want to wait for a bit before talking to Dragon?" Sabo asked slowly. "You didn't sleep much on the way here."

"I'm fine."

"You're clearly not."

"I'm fine enough."

"Ace."

"Sabo. I wouldn't be able to fall asleep even if I wanted to." He pushed off the wall. "Let's have this talk. Then you can show me to wherever I can sleep without getting watched, poked, or prodded."

"Only if you're sure."

"I'm sure."

When they went into his office, Dragon was sitting at his desk, a folder with the familiar "confidential" marking stamped across the front. Ace followed Sabo's example with barely-detectable nervousness, his eyes darting around the room, taking in everything as the door shut behind them, muffling the worst of the noise from outside. They stopped a few feet from the edge of the desk, Sabo just slightly in front of Ace.

After a few tense seconds, Dragon shifted. He shut the folder and slid it into the middle of a short stack of other plain manila folders. If there were other confidential documents that Dragon was working on, Sabo knew, they would be hidden in that stack too.

"Sabo," Dragon greeted. He looked at Ace. "You must be Ace."

Ace nodded. Sabo snuck a glance at him and resisted the urge to groan. Ace was looking at Dragon in the exact same way he looked at Sabo. It clearly wasn't a normal thing. He hadn't done it with any of the other revolutionaries. If Dragon was perturbed by Ace's expression, however, he gave no sign of it.

"Yeah," Ace said. "I'm Ace. What do you want to know? Can't say I know much more about that facility than whatever your agent here stole."

That was a lot of projected confidence in Ace's posture and tone. Ace really was nervous.

"Just one thing," Dragon said. "Sabo's report mentioned that there was one primary scientist assigned to you, but others occasionally involved themselves."

Ace nodded tightly. "There were at least ten different guys rotating through while I was there."

And not one had questioned what they were doing, Sabo thought bitterly. The black sites required a very specific kind of worker, but it was still sickening to have their continued existence confirmed time and again.

"Do you know any of their names?"

Ace frowned, his gaze going to the floor while he thought. "Off the top of my head…Jorien? Jacobson? Something with a 'j,' I'm pretty sure. No, wait. Jaus. That was it. Jaus."

Dragon and Sabo made brief eye contact. They'd heard reports of a scientist named Jaus at nearly every black site the Revolutionary Army had managed to infiltrate. He was a legend among sadists and, unfortunately, a brilliant mind. If not for that, Sabo was sure, even the marines would have thrown him in Impel Down by now.

"Anyone else?" Dragon pressed. Ace pursed his lips and then shook his head.

"No. Not right now. That Jaus guy disappeared a couple of years ago, too." He looked irritated at himself. "If I think of more names, I'll let you know."

"See to it that you do. Sabo, give us a minute alone, would you?"

This time, Ace sought Sabo's eye. Sabo tried to be reassuring; Dragon was, despite his appearance, a realistic man. At the very least, he would recognize Ace's use as an asset rather than an enemy. The Mera Mera no Mi was not something to be taken lightly.

"Just call if you need me," Sabo told Ace quietly on his way out. Ace nodded, and Sabo left the office, shutting the door behind him. Ace, painfully aware of the sudden quiet, shifted on his feet.

"You know my son," Dragon finally said. Ace hesitated, but only for a second.

"Yeah. You're Luffy's old man, aren't you? The name gives it away."

"I am." Dragon gave Ace a considering look. "I had heard of your disappearance from Goa Island, but I did not realize the circumstances. Tell me, how much do you remember of your imprisonment?"

"Most of it. Can't guarantee it's all accurate, though."

"Witness testimony never is. We simply like to keep tabs on the marines' research and methods, that's all. You are a rather unique case, too."

Ace absently rubbed the burn scars on his arm. "Yeah, I've heard that. What did you send Sabo out for?"

"I am sure you've noticed his memory loss."

"Hard not to. You rescued him?"

"Yes. He was near-death. I saved his body, but his mind…"

Ace chewed his lip. "I've been avoiding telling him the truth. I doubt he'd believe me, the way things are."

"A wise choice."

"Oh?" Ace narrowed his eyes, sensing that there was more to Dragon's actions than benevolence. "I think you just don't want to lose one of your best soldiers. Don't think I missed all the deference and crap he was getting out there. He's high up in this place. He's important to you." Seeing Dragon's narrowed eyes, Ace raised his hands. "Relax. I doubt I could tear him away from this place if I wanted to. It's not like I have anywhere I can go."

"You don't wish to return to Goa Island?"

A bitter smile pulled at Ace's lips. "What's left for me there? Luffy's gone, Sabo's gone, everyone else has probably forgotten about me. I wasn't exactly a good kid."

"Your heritage doesn't make things easy," Dragon mused.

The world stopped.

"You _know_?" Ace said, unaware of the fire dancing on his skin. Dragon, unfazed, regarded him with damning equilibrium.

"I am the supreme commander of the largest spy network in the world," he said. "Of course I know."

"Who else knows?" Ace asked. "Did they spread it around? Tell the whole world they captured Roger's son?"

Dragon shook his head. "No. Your existence is as unknown as it was twenty years ago."

Visibly relaxing, Ace closed his eyes. "Everywhere I go, that man follows."

"There are worse monsters in the world."

Ace thought about the labs, the goggles, the grasping hands and bloodied metal. "Maybe."

Dragon set his elbows on the desk and clasped his hands in front of his face. His gaze didn't waver from Ace's face. His words were measured, testing. "You can do something about them, if you wish."

Ace raised an eyebrow. "Yeah? What's that supposed to mean?"

Dragon tipped his head to the right, indicating a large map tacked up on the wall. It depicted the whole planet, with some islands circled in red, some in green, and the most in blue. String hung from it like a demented spider's web. Sensing the invitation, Ace strode over to the map and examined it, trying to piece together what all the colors, strings, and symbols meant.

"The blue islands," Dragon said from his desk, "represent known marine strongholds. The green islands are locations with strong marine influence."

"And the red ones?"

"Suspected black sites."

Reaching up to trace the nearest red island, Ace glanced over his shoulder. "Like the one I was in."

Dragon nodded. "Yes. Like the one you were in."

Ace dropped his hand and faced the man fully. "What are you offering?"

"A ship. A crew. And a list of the bases we can't get into through more…subtle means."

Ace turned to the map once more. He stared at it, fire flickering along his arms and in his hair. Vengeance settled on his shoulders and whispered sweet promises in his ear. His lips stretched into a savage grin.

"When do I start?"

* * *

 _ **Please review.**_


	3. Chapter 3

_It's complete for real this time._

* * *

 **3**

* * *

Chasing down a single ship across the entirety of the Grand Line was not Sabo's idea of a good time. He had other responsibilities as the Chief of Staff, not to mention the veritable mountain of paperwork waiting for him back at the base. There were important missions, debriefs, and information packets buried in there. But no, here he was, out on the water with salt coating his skin and the ship rocking gently under his feet.

Still, there was nothing to be done about it, and, despite the responsibilities awaiting his return, he was enjoying the travel. He'd never been able to refuse the allure of the open sea. He rested his elbows on the starboard railing and peered out at the distant horizon. Dawn had come a couple hours prior, but intermittent clouds kept the weather comfortably cool.

"I figured I'd find you out here."

Koala leaned against the railing next to him, the ruffles of her pastel green shirt rippling in the breeze.

"What can I say? I'm predictable."

Koala's lips twitched. "I just know you." Her shoulders dropped as she looked out over the water. "Think we'll find him?"

"You know I can't say for sure. I hope we do."

After a few more seconds of contemplative quiet, Sabo pushed off the railing. When Koala raised an eyebrow, Sabo merely pointed to the sky. "Seagulls," he said. "We're close."

Koala followed him belowdecks. They both spent a minute getting their gear in order. This was not an infiltration mission—more of an exfiltration if their hunch was right—but there was no sense advertising the Revolutionary Army's every move, so they were on a single unmarked ship. If anything went wrong, there would be no reinforcements.

The skeleton crew actually steering the ship docked without issue. The captain, a man who had helped Sabo with errands many times before, disembarked to negotiate with the dock authority. Sabo and Koala disembarked as well, pausing until the men in uniform nodded permission to go ashore.

"Nothing's on fire," Koala noted. "That's a good sign, right?"

Sabo scanned the shops lining the main road. True, there was nothing burning, and there were no signs of a fight, either. This was a small island, more of a footnote on a map than anything else, but the Revolutionary Army had long known about suspicious marine activity passing through its waters. There was no confirmed black site, but that was only because they hadn't yet been able to spare the resources to thoroughly investigate. Ace had reported his intent to come here weeks ago and hadn't been heard from since. The islands he should've hit on the way had given no indication that Ace had visited them. The agents Dragon had sent out to investigate after Ace missed his second check-in had also reported nothing.

So here Sabo was. Investigating where the other investigators had failed. All he'd managed to do was decide to check Ace's final destination one last time. If there _was_ a black site here, and if Ace had somehow been captured, then it was the logical place to hold him—if it was anything like the facility from the fog-laden sector, at least.

They spent a while merely walking around town, playing the part of a curious tourist couple while sweeping the streets for anything suspicious. There were more marines than there should've been for a town and island this size, but nothing extreme. When Sabo's stomach finally complained about the lack of lunch, they settled on an old café just off the main road. Shielded from the sun by a simple umbrella over the table and thoroughly refreshed by the café's excellent smoothies, Sabo scanned the faces of the people walking by as discreetly as he could. Koala, he knew, was doing the same.

"It's quiet," Koala murmured.

"Marines are all in standard uniform," Sabo replied. "Their base is a tiny building just off the marina. Bedrock underneath, from what I saw on the approach. No room for sublevels."

"Other buildings looked clean."

"Captain said there aren't any other docks. No one lives on the far side of the island."

Koala frowned into her tea. "Convenient."

"Very."

"How do we get there?"

Sabo sipped his smoothie. "We ask."

* * *

"Impossible," the old woman said, shaking her head to further emphasize her words. "Can't be done. Why in the heavens would you want to go there, anyhow? Nothing to see but bog and bones."

Koala and Sabo leaned into each other, all smiles. "My husband and I just love to explore," Koala gushed. "It's what we do! Why, for our honeymoon, he took me to this breathtaking island in the East Blue. We spent days hiking in these beautiful mountains. We just can't miss opportunities like those."

The woman frowned. "Nothing like that here, I'm afraid. Locals tried to clean the place up and make it livable, but too many people went missing. It's a dangerous place. They closed down all the routes years ago. Stick to this side and you'll have a much safer time of it. No reason to tempt fate, that's what I think."

"Aw," Koala said, slouching a little. "Are you sure?"

"Quite. Stay on the safe side, lassie. Even the marines know that."

Sabo watched the woman walk deeper into the shop, leaving Koala and him alone in a little tucked-away corner. Racks of clothes dampened the sounds of the store, making it the perfect spot for a quick planning session.

"We have to go," Koala said as soon as the woman was out of earshot. "It's way too suspicious to leave it alone. The original intel we have from here even mentioned it as a possibility."

"The original intel mentioned that the island had another half that was unexplored," Sabo corrected. "We don't want to jump to conclusions."

"Do you think Ace went there?"

"I don't know."

"His powers wouldn't be very useful in a bog."

"Not really." Sabo leaned against the wall, staring at the floor in thought. "The locals all think the bog is too dangerous to explore. People went missing when they tried."

"It isn't unheard of for the marines to make some people…vanish, or something, when they get in the way."

Sabo inclined his head. "The captain said he hadn't heard of any docks on the far side, but that doesn't mean there isn't somewhere for boats to come ashore or offload cargo. The marine base at the front here is a great way to throw off suspicion. Why have two bases on one island?"

"The bogs could also explain the increased marine presence," Koala noted.

"We haven't seen the paths," Sabo mused, "but if we look…"

"I bet marines guard them," Koala finished. "Worth a shot." She paused, and then frowned, peering over Sabo's shoulder at the bay. "Hey, Sabo, that ship—the one just arriving. Does it look familiar to you?"

Sabo snuck a glance behind him under the pretense of cracking his back. There was only one ship sailing towards shore: a small, unremarkable craft with a white figurehead and an unassuming build. It was precisely its innocuous appearance that made it resonate in Sabo's memory.

He faced Koala again. "That's Straw Hat Luffy's ship," he murmured, making sure to pitch his voice so no one nearby would hear.

"Why is he stopping here? Our last sighting of him had him going in the opposite direction. The base here isn't even big enough to warrant an all-out assault. He's always gone after larger targets. Does he know about the possible black site?"

"Impossible. Even we haven't confirmed it, and he hasn't gone after any other ones. Only known bases on islands he's sailing past."

"So why?"

"I don't know. Ace seemed to know his poster, but beyond that, I can't see how they could be connected. I do know his arrival is going to cause a serious commotion here, though."

"A distraction?"

Sabo nodded. "Exactly."

They both stood. "Can't let an opportunity like this go to waste," Koala said.

"Certainly can't," Sabo agreed.

"Terrible waste."

"Unforgiveable."

They both watched the ship pull up to an open dock.

"We should really get going."

"Obviously."

Neither moved.

"How does he do it?" Koala finally said. "He's got a small crew."

"He's a kid."

"Took down Arlong."

"Easily."

"Does he make allies?"

"Charisma can only get a pirate so far."

Koala narrowed her eyes. "The crew's coming off. The dock chief's talking to the redhead."

"No chaos yet," Sabo noted.

Koala went to reply and then stopped. "There's another ship coming."

"Marines?"

"No. Smaller. Look, just south of west."

Sabo peered out at the horizon. Sure enough, there was a tiny smudge where sky met sea. "It could be a bounty hunter."

"Maybe," Koala said, but she didn't sound convinced. "You said Ace was weirdly interested in Straw Hat's bounty poster, didn't you?"

"He recognized it, but played it off when I asked him about it. He told me later they're brothers."

"I think," Koala said slowly, "that he might be more interested in a reunion than he hinted he was. Look at the approaching ship."

Sabo took another long look. The ship was getting closer at incredible speed, but it wasn't growing much in size. It looked to be even smaller than Straw Hat's vessel. Possibly only room for a single man. How could it generate enough power to go as fast as it did? Unless that fire coming out the back—

Sabo sucked in a breath. "Fire."

Koala nodded. "Fire. We need to intercept him."

"What?"

"Think about it. Ace and Straw Hat Luffy going against all the marines on this island? Way too much attention."

Sabo waved a hand. "You don't need to convince me, Koala. I know. Let's go, before Ace destroys the island."

As they ran, weaving between townsfolk when they could and shoving through them when they couldn't, Sabo kept close track of the fire ship's progress. They didn't know for sure that it was Ace, of course, but if it was and they did nothing, this whole town would be at risk of immolation. Ace had a bad reputation for collateral damage. Never on purpose, but his fires raged out of control all too often after too many years of being forcibly extinguished.

"I just don't understand," Koala said, running on Sabo's right. "Where's his ship? Where's his crew? If he's alive, why didn't he check in?"

"I don't know," Sabo grunted. "We'll ask him when we see him. Guessing isn't going to get us anywhere."

"This way, it's a shortcut."

They split off the main road into a series of winding alleys with walls that pressed in close on either side. Sabo vaulted over a tipped barrel and then leaped over a low fence, Koala a step ahead. Their footsteps echoed harshly off the leering walls and curious faces peered at them from open windows, but Sabo ignored them. No sense in maintaining their cover at a time like this.

Breaking back into the open, Sabo blinked away the glare of the sun off the water and scanned the piers for Ace's ship. He should've been docking or about to dock.

"There!" Koala said, taking off again. Sabo chased after her, seeing what she'd seen a second later: Ace drifting up to the nearest dock in his banana-yellow boat, the last of the flames from the engine flickering out. He was already chatting with the dock authority who was walking over, an easy smile on his face. Sabo and Koala pulled up short in surprise as Ace handled the logistics of his arrival without once giving any sign of the murderous rage he was so infamous for.

But it was, without a doubt, Ace. Sabo had not seen him since his departure from Baltigo, but the time on his own had clearly done him good: the bags under his eyes were gone, his hair was longer and more unruly in a style that suited him better, and he'd picked up various accessories during his travel, including a bright orange hat, a dagger with an ornate green sheath, and a necklace of red beads. Of most note, though, was the tattoo on his arm. How Ace had managed to get the ink to work with the scar tissue, Sabo didn't know, but now the A-S-C-E was visible for the world to see.

Strangely, though, the S was no longer crossed out. A sign of his freedom?

"He looks…good," Koala said hesitantly.

"Not on the warpath, you mean," Sabo said.

"Yeah. He's, uh, he's all yours, I guess. I'll keep watch while you two catch up."

Sabo tipped his head in acknowledgement and then strode across the dock, his boots making the wooden slats beneath creak with every step. He passed the dock authority with a nod and continued on to Ace, who was rummaging in his ship with his back to Sabo.

"Ace," Sabo said. No response. "Ace," he said again, louder this time. Ace started and then stood so fast he nearly tipped into the water.

"Sabo?" Ace peered at him in clear surprise, then relaxed as he threw a watermelon-patterned bag over one shoulder. "Really is you. What're you doing all the way out here?"

"What am I—what am I doing out here? Really?"

"What?"

"You missed two check-ins, Ace. _Two_. We couldn't find any sign of you, so I got sent out here to track you down."

Ace frowned. "Missed? There's no way I—" he stopped, realization dawning. "Oh."

"What do you mean, _oh_?"

"The crew and I were having a good time a few weeks back and may have…accidentally drowned our snail."

Sabo felt the sigh welling up from the deepest parts of his soul but pushed it down. "You _drowned_ your only means of communication with us?"

"On accident."

"Ace…"

"Look, I'll swing by HQ and grab another one once I'm done here. It'll be fine."

"Where is your crew?" Sabo asked.

"We had to stop at Water 7 for ship repairs. I left them there once this beauty got finished—" he nudged his boat with his foot—"and came here."

Sabo really wanted to rub his temples. He really did. But he resisted. "Why did you come here, Ace?"

"Uh. The suspected black site?"

"You don't sound very sure about that, and if you did, you wouldn't leave your crew behind. What did you really come here for?"

After a second's hesitation, Ace sighed. "I needed to see Luffy."

"All this for your brother."

Ace nodded wordlessly.

"Let me get this straight," Sabo said. "You went to Water 7 for ship repairs, drowned your snail, heard about your brother coming this way, _left your crew and ship behind_ , and came here to meet with him?"

Ace shrugged. "Pretty much. I didn't want him to think I was a bounty hunter or rival crew. I did say I was going to come this way before our snail died. Besides, the spot we're hitting after this is back by Water 7. No sense wasting supplies by dragging the whole crew out here and back."

"So you're not here for the possible black site."

"Only half the reason I came. I can take a look while I'm here. I just didn't expect them to stop at this island. There's that much bigger kingdom nearby—Alabasta, I'm pretty sure it's called."

"Maybe," Sabo said dryly, "they wanted to stop and investigate the strange ship that had been following them. Did you ever bother to introduce yourself as something _other_ than a bounty hunter?"

"Uh…no. I'm not sure how to approach him. Doing it on open water didn't seem right. What if he doesn't recognize me?"

And there, just a flash of it: true anxiety. Ace was putting on a brave face, but Sabo could see right through it. He was scared of rejection. Terrified of it.

Sabo reached out. His hand fell on Ace's shoulder and Ace went rigid.

"Just talk to him," Sabo advised, squeezing once and letting go. "He's family. He'll know you."

Pain flickered across Ace's expression. "Yeah, you'd think that, wouldn't you?"

Sabo didn't really know how to respond to that. Luckily, he didn't have to: Ace glanced over his shoulder and set his jaw.

"Well, the redhead from his crew is talking to your friend there. I don't think I have a choice anymore."

"To Koala?" Sabo turned and, sure enough, Cat Burglar Nami was holding an animated conversation with Koala. When Ace approached, though, Nami broke off the conversation immediately.

"You," she said, pointing at Ace. "You're the one that's been following us, aren't you?"

"And if I am?"

Nami crossed her arms. "Then Zoro here is going to have words with you."

"Zoro," Ace repeated. "Green hair, three swords?"

"Yup."

"The guy who took a wrong turn about half a block back?" Nami went white. Ace raised his hands in the universal gesture of peace. "Relax. I'm not a bounty hunter or anything like that. I just want to talk to your captain."

"Why?"

"Uh, to catch up?"

"How do you know Luffy?"

"I'm his brother."

"Not a good eno—his _brother_?" Nami shook her head. "That's not possible. His brother is—"

"Imprisoned in some top-secret marine black site without any hope of rescue?" Ace finished. "I escaped."

Sabo would describe Nami in that moment as "floored." There was no way to know how much Luffy had said about his missing brother, but Ace's simple interruption apparently provided the minimum required evidence.

"I just want to talk to him," Ace repeated.

Nami's gaze flicked to Ace's tattoo, then back to his face. The gears, after that moment of shock, were turning. "What's your name?"

"My name? Ace."

"All right. What's Luffy's name? His full name."

Sabo wanted to scoff at the ridiculousness of the question. Surely everyone knew Straw Hat Luffy's full name. It was simple, something…something like…

He didn't know it. Hadn't even really thought about someone like Straw Hat _having_ a family name.

"Monkey D. Luffy."

Ace said it like the name was just that: a name. But to Sabo, it rang like a town square bell. _Monkey. D._ Both of those meant something incredible. Straw Hat Luffy had some kind of relation to Dragon—father-son, most likely, provided that Luffy did not share the same family name by sheer coincidence. And with a middle initial of "D," that seemed unlikely.

Ace, completely unaware of how he'd just thrown Sabo and Koala for a complete loop, fell into step behind Nami as she led the way back to Straw Hat's ship.

"I convinced everyone else to stay on board," she explained as they walked. "I didn't think this would take very long. We just wanted to get you to stop following us."

"I thought I was doing a better job staying out of your line of sight," Ace admitted.

"Can't really hide on open water."

"No, I guess you can't."

"Are we just following them?" Koala whispered.

"I guess," Sabo whispered back. "Ace doesn't seem to mind. What else are we going to do? Straw Hat isn't here to cause trouble, so the distraction isn't going to happen. We might as well see just how deep his and Ace's connection goes. Who knows? He might be a useful ally in the future."

"If you say so."

Sabo listened to Nami and Ace's conversation with half an ear. The marines wandering the port were throwing glances their way, but no one was making a move yet. Did they recognize Nami? Sabo's face wasn't as well known, and neither was Koala's. Ace hit bases so quickly and so brutally that no one escaped with a description, making him the most anonymous of their group. For the moment, their anonymity was holding, but for how long? Even marines on a backwater island like this would eventually realize something was strange about the new ship on their shores.

Speaking of that ship, it was really just as unassuming up close as it was from afar. Sabo would be tempted to call its sheep-like figurehead cute. Koala didn't bother with such reservations, saying quietly: "Aw, look, it's a sheep."

"Don't touch anything," Nami advised. "Usopp cares a lot about this ship and we've done enough repairs already."

"It's not made of Adam's wood," Koala muttered, tapping her foot against the wooden boards that made up the deck. "It isn't going to last out here for very long if they keep getting into fights."

Sabo nodded. "Ace can lead them to Water 7 if he wants. It's their choice."

The two revolutionaries quieted down and did what they did best as Nami went into the ship's small mess: they melted into the background, letting all the attention gather on Ace. It was almost too easy with the way Ace drew the eye. His shoulders were squared, one thumb hooked through his belt, the other hand hanging loosely at his side.

"He's nervous," Sabo commented.

"How can you tell?"

"I just can. Can't you?"

Koala frowned. "No. He looks perfectly comfortable."

Movement above: a young man with a long nose, curly hair, and brown overalls climbed down from the crow's nest.

"You're Usopp, right?" Ace called. Usopp froze, then glanced at Ace. "I'm Ace, Luffy's brother."

That calmed Usopp down immediately, but not all of his suspicion disappeared. Ace raised his hands with a wry grin. "I come in peace?"

Sabo doubted Ace had ever said those words and meant them at any point in his life. Usopp dropped all the way to the deck and looked right past Ace, focusing on Sabo and Koala, startling them both.

"Who are they?"

Ace glanced over his shoulder. "Ah, just some friends of mine. Don't worry about them."

"R-Right…"

The door to the mess slammed open and Nami marched out. She stopped several yards away from Ace, scowling something fierce as she crossed her arms. "I knew it," she said. "You're lying."

"Where's Luffy?" Ace asked quietly.

"Not coming. He says you can't be here, and I believe him."

Usopp moved to stand next to Nami as another blond boy came up on her other side, looking just as irritated as Nami.

"Where. Is. My brother?" Ace repeated. Tongues of flame flared up in his hair. A bead of sweat slipped down the back of Sabo's neck.

"Ace," he said, "calm down."

"My brother," Ace growled. "Where is he? Last chance."

"Why don't you get off our ship?" the blond boy suggested.

The air around Ace was quite literally rippling with heat when the door to the mess opened one last time and a boy with scruffy black hair, a scar under one eye, and a simple straw hat emerged.

Ace's heat vanished like a fire in a flood. His shoulders dropped and all the hard lines on his face melted away.

"Luffy," he breathed.

Nami, Usopp, and the blond boy all glanced over their shoulders.

"Luffy!" Nami said. "I told you to stay inside."

Luffy, eyes wide, didn't even seem to hear her. He walked right by his crew, crossing the invisible line like it wasn't even there.

"Ace?" he whispered, voice quiet and shaking. "Ace, is that you?"

Mesmerized, Sabo watched them close the gap. They all but tackled each other when they finally made contact, Luffy launching himself at Ace hard enough to make Ace spin around. Ace knotted his fingers in Luffy's vest, tears sliding out of his closed eyes as he choked back a sob. Luffy had no such restraint: his rubbery arms wrapped around Ace once, twice, three times as he openly bawled.

"You're okay," Ace hiccupped into Luffy's shoulder as Luffy repeated the same mantra. "You're okay, you're okay, you're okay."

Sabo exchanged a look with Koala. They felt like intruders, but there was nowhere else to go, and leaving would be far worse than staying quiet and out of the way.

Still, as Sabo watched them sink to their knees, still holding each other as close as they possibly could, something empty and cold yawned open in his chest. It happened so quickly that he had to look away and bring one hand to his heart just to make sure it was still beating.

"Sabo?" Koala asked, worry lacing her tone.

"Fine," he grunted. "I'm fine."

He forced himself to recover his equilibrium and stood straight. Ace's spinning had ended with him facing Sabo, his back to Luffy's crew, but the opposing trio was making no moves, just as shell-shocked as Sabo and Koala. Ace was still crying, glimmering tracks running down his cheeks, but he sniffled and pulled back from Luffy. The younger boy's arms unwound and snapped back to normal length. Ace kept his hands on Luffy's shoulders, eyes shining as he took in every detail.

"You're okay," he said one last time.

Luffy reached out and poked at Ace's face. "You're here."

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm here, Luffy."

They embraced again, still on their knees.

"How?" Luffy mumbled.

"I had help getting out. Heard about what you've been doing while I've been gone. Doesn't seem like you, Luffy."

"Had to find you."

"You did. I'm here."

After another several seconds of drinking each other in, Ace and Luffy finally got back to their feet. Luffy's eyes were red and puffy; Ace was looking no better. Yet, despite that, both were practically glowing. Ace had an arm around Luffy's shoulders and didn't look inclined to let go. Luffy was leaning into Ace like a compass finding its true North.

Ace and Sabo made eye contact. Ace beamed. Not a smirk, or a brief quirk of his lips, but a full on smile that made his whole face light up.

The void in Sabo's chest grew colder.

Worse, that niggling feeling of familiarity that had always bugged him when he spent time around Ace was growing. He _knew_ Ace, he _knew_ Luffy, he knew that he knew them, but he didn't understand how or why or from what. Seeing them together was practically giving him a headache from the force of it.

Koala's elbow dug into his side. Sabo winced. "Ow, what?"

"You're crying," Koala said.

Blinking, Sabo wiped his eyes. His sleeve came away darkened with moisture. He was crying. Why was he crying?

"Jeez, you're white as a sheet, too. Hey, Nami, got somewhere he can lie down?"

Nami tore her attention away from the two reunited brothers. "Um." After another glance at Ace and Luffy, she nodded. "Over this way."

Ace watched, the euphoria of reuniting with Luffy slowly ebbing away, as Sabo staggered into the ship's small, understocked medical room. Koala nodded at him as she walked past, a tacit signal that she'd keep an eye on him. Ace squeezed Luffy's shoulder, stuck. Did he check on Sabo? But then Luffy would want to know who Sabo was, and hearing the name would probably be enough, but then Ace would have to explain that Sabo didn't remember anything, and he really, really didn't have the strength for that right now. When he'd smiled at Sabo and had gotten a blank stare in return, the reality of the situation had all but taken the floor out from under him. He had Luffy back, but Luffy wasn't the same kid he'd left behind; he had Sabo back, but Sabo didn't even know him anymore.

Their brotherhood was broken, and the cracks weren't the kind you could just will away.

"Hey, I was in the middle of making lunch when you showed up, so if you want some food…" The blond boy jerked his head towards the mess. Under Ace's arm, Luffy perked up.

"Food!"

He started to move, then paused and glanced back at Ace. "You still eat, right?"

Ace wanted to laugh at the absurdity of the question, but he settled for a playful knock on Luffy's shoulder that only staggered Luffy a little bit. "Of course I do, moron."

They settled around a table. Ace, naturally, claimed a spot next to Luffy, even though he knew he was going to have to fight for his food because of it. Nami had begged off after getting Sabo and Koala situated, saying she was going to hunt down Zoro.

Once the food was served and everyone had settled in, Ace figured it was time for a round of introductions. While fighting Luffy with his left hand and eating with his right, he explained who he was and apologized for being hostile.

"I thought you were keeping him from me," Ace finished. "I didn't mean to get aggressive. I apologize."

Clearly caught off-guard, Usopp and Sanji glanced at each other before Usopp swallowed his food and took the lead. "Um, ah, thank you. We didn't realize you were, um, telling the truth."

"You just wanted to protect Luffy. I can understand that." Ace tipped his head, narrowly avoiding a stripped-clean bone to the eye. "So, you're Usopp, right?"

Usopp nodded, puffing out his chest. "Yes, Usopp, the best shot you've ever seen!"

Ace shifted to the other man. "Sanji," the blond said. "The cook, obviously. So you're the shitty captain's brother?"

"Not by blood," Ace clarified, elbowing Luffy in the side when he got too aggressive on the food acquisition. "But yeah, we swore brotherhood when we were younger, before we got…separated."

"Not by blood," Usopp repeated. "Okay, that clear things up. You act a lot differently than he does."

"I paid attention," Ace said with a shrug. "Getting this idiot to listen to any kind of instruction, no matter who's giving it, is way more trouble than it's worth."

Usopp and Sanji both nodded with the wisdom of experience.

"What about that other guy travelling with you?" Sanji asked. "And that gorgeous _mademoiselle_ that tended to him?"

"Ah…yeah, that woman was Koala. She and the guy are friends of mine."

"So who's the guy?"

Ace shot an uncomfortable glance at Luffy, who was still focused on mopping up the last of the meat Sanji had prepared. "It's complicated," he finally said. "You'll just have to trust me."

Sanji took a long drag of his cigarette and sighed. "If the captain trusts you, I guess we have to do the same."

"So what was Luffy like when you were growing up?" Usopp asked. "He doesn't talk about it."

Ace raised an eyebrow. "Do you ever ask?"

"Ah…no, not really."

Leaning forward, Ace rested his elbows on the table. "He was a handful. Always chasing after me. I got really annoyed when he wouldn't give up."

"He pushed me off a bridge," Luffy said around his last mouthful. Sanji choked on his next inhale, coughing out smoke. Ace nodded.

"I wasn't a nice kid," he acknowledged. "Without Luffy, I would've been a lot different. I had another friend at that point, but neither of us knew how or where to draw the lines. Luffy gave us a new perspective. We ended up pulling a lot of crazy stunts together."

"Don't forget the treehouse," Luffy put in.

"Right. We built this big treehouse. Put a wheel in it, made a crow's nest—we wanted to be pirates, each of us a captain of our own crews, eventually. We made an agreement to all sail out when we turned seventeen. A storm nearly tore the whole tree down. Luffy went out to save our flag and nearly got blown away himself. Plus the times he nearly got eaten by a croc, or the giant centipedes—"

"How giant?" Usopp asked.

"Hmm. Twenty feet?"

Usopp relaxed. "Not really centipedes."

He misunderstood. Ace shook his head. "No, I mean twenty feet long."

Sanji caught Usopp before he fainted his way to the floor. "Rough island you grew up on."

"Yeah. Those were the good years, though. Things went south after we swore brotherhood."

"That's when you," Sanji started, then gestured with his free hand. Ace nodded. Sanji looked away, brows knitted in thought. For his part, Usopp had recovered but was still visibly shaken by the knowledge that twenty-foot-long centipedes existed.

Ace came to a decision. He stood. "I'm going to check on my friend. Luffy, you mind coming with me? I think you should meet him."

"Okay."

Luffy followed without complaint. As they briefly stepped out onto the main deck on the off-chance Sabo had wanted fresh air, Nami returned with the swordsman Zoro. Seeing the two, Nami paused.

"Sanji and Usopp are in there," Ace said, pointing back at the mess. "I'm pretty sure he hid some food away for you guys."

"There was more?" Luffy asked. Ace whacked his shoulder.

"You had enough. Leave some for your crew."

As Nami and Zoro walked by, Ace overheard Zoro ask, "Who's the other guy?"

He hoped Sanji and Usopp would just repeat what he'd already said, since he didn't relish the idea of saying all that again. Reminiscing about his time with Sabo and Luffy had brought up painful memories that he'd prefer not to visit again.

When Ace knocked, Koala opened the door. "How is he?"

She pursed her lips. "Pretty out of it. He said he had a headache, then fell asleep, but he's not really resting."

She shifted her weight, letting Ace look over her shoulder. Sabo was on a cot in the room beyond, face glistening with sweat as he twisted and groaned on top of the sheets. Behind Ace, Luffy rocked on his feet, already losing interest.

"Mind giving us the room?" Ace asked. Koala frowned.

"Why? Don't tell me you're going to try burning Sabo's fever out of him because I'm pretty sure that only works for you."

"No, of course not. Look, I just—there's something he and I and Luffy need to talk about."

"He really isn't in any condition to talk."

"It's something he needs to hear."

"Something I can't hear? What is this about, Ace?"

Ace bit his lip, glanced at Luffy, and then sighed. "He's my brother."

"Luffy? Yes, I've heard."

"No, not—I mean, yes, Luffy, but Sabo too."

"What?"

For his part, Luffy was no longer rocking on his heels. "Sabo?"

"It's a long story," Ace said, "but I knew it the instant he rescued me from that facility. He's our brother. I know it."

Luffy tugged Ace's sleeve. "Why are you talking about Sabo?"

"Is _everyone_ here related to you?" Koala asked.

"Just these two."

She sighed, but it quickly turned into a frustrated groan. "All right, fine, go on in. But if you do anything to him, I'm kicking you overboard."

"I'll keep that in mind."

Ace ducked into the tiny medical bay, Luffy still asking questions as Koala shut the door behind them.

"That's Sabo," Ace finally said, facing Luffy. Luffy frowned, peering at the cot.

"But Sabo's…"

"That's what I thought too. Apparently we were both wrong."

Luffy approached slowly, eyes wide and wondering. Sabo, completely unaware of the world around him, continued to quietly suffer in his own head. Ace rested a hand on Luffy's shoulder as they both looked down at their brother.

"What happened?" Luffy asked.

"I don't have all the information," Ace replied. "But when that noble bastard shot Sabo's ship, Sabo survived. The leader of the Revolutionary Army rescued him, but Sabo lost his memory."

"He doesn't remember us?"

"No."

Luffy glanced at the small counter. "He still has his hat."

"Or he found a similar one. I guess some things never change."

Sabo screamed. Ace flinched, Luffy dropped Sabo's hat, and Koala slammed the door open.

Ace grabbed Sabo's flailing arms and held them down. "Get his legs!" he barked. Koala and Luffy rushed to restrain Sabo before he hurt himself, but the blond was strong; Ace was thrown into the far wall, slamming his head against the boards. He turned to fire at the last instant to avoid a concussion, but it was a near thing. Staggering back to Sabo, he grabbed his brother's wrists and levered all of his body weight against Sabo to avoid being tossed again.

Sabo cried out, the sound digging into Ace's ears, but this time Ace was ready for the thrashing. He, Luffy, and Koala held on until the fight abruptly drained out of Sabo, leaving him limp on the cot. Ace, muscles aching, slouched against the wall. Koala did the same. Luffy, who had used his rubbery arms to great effect, was massaging his left arm and wincing.

"What did you do?" Koala asked.

"Nothing," Ace said.

"He just started yelling," Luffy added.

They all looked at Sabo, who was breathing evenly but showed no signs of waking up.

"We should take him back to base," Koala said. "They'll have doctors—"

"I don't think this is an issue with his body," Ace said quietly.

"What?"

"Think about it. Was he sick on the way over here? He seemed fine when I first talked to him."

"No, he was…he was normal."

"So it was only when he saw Luffy and I together."

"Your reunion was pretty emotional," Koala admitted. "He was pretty distracted during it."

"And then this happened."

"I guess you have a point. What do we do, then?"

Ace glanced around, then pulled up a stool. "We wait."

* * *

Sabo's was not a peaceful wakening. His world rocked, throwing him to the floor as his dream disappeared from his memory. His head bounced against the wood, jarring him into consciousness as the boards beneath him tipped. He scrabbled for a handhold—the bed's nearest leg—as the ground shifted to a nauseating degree before righting itself. Groaning, Sabo staggered to his feet. His head was mess, and the new welt didn't help matters in the least.

The boat rocked again, throwing Sabo into the wall. Outside, he could hear shouting and gunfire. He grabbed his hat from the nearby counter and yanked the door open.

Marines. They were everywhere: swarming the beaches and climbing their way onto the deck as a small group of kids tried to fight them off. Sabo blinked. Kids. No. Straw Hat Luffy's—no, just _Luffy's_ —crew. His pirate crew. Because he'd sailed out at seventeen, just like they'd all promised.

"GET. AWAY. FROM. MY. BROTHER!"

A raging tornado of flame slammed down onto the largest gathering of marines on the beach, scattering some and killing most. Ace followed it up with a hail of exploding fireballs that threw the reforming units into complete chaos. In the clearing smoke, Sabo saw Luffy, now freed from the dogpile and wreaking havoc with flying fists and feet.

He blinked. Luffy looked older than he remembered. Or—or no, he didn't. Sabo shook his head. His headache wasn't going away, but it wasn't getting worse, either.

Movement. Sanji of Luffy's crew was in front of him, one foot raised. A yard to Sabo's left, a cannonball was halfway embedded in the wall.

"If you're gonna get up and wander around in the middle of a fight," Sanji advised, "pay attention. The shit captain has enough on his plate already."

Another flash of movement. Two halves of a cannonball sliced cleanly down the middle sailed past, splintering the wooden panels on either side of Sabo and Sanji.

"I could say the same thing, swirly-brows," the green-haired one—Zoro—growled around the sword hilt in his mouth.

"What's going on?" Sabo asked. "The last thing I remember is Koala taking me into that room."

"The marines figured out who we are," Sanji said, kicking another cannonball back at its cannon. The soldiers manning the weapon dove out of the way as the cannon backfired, resulting in an explosion that took out the other two cannons next to it. "This island has way too many of them. They took out our sails first. We had no choice but to fight. If you can help, do it. If not, I'd recommend getting back in that room."

Sabo frowned, flexing his fingers. No matter how much fog lingered in his brain, he had trained for years to make sure combat was reflex as much as intention.

"I can fight."

"Good."

Sanji kicked a marine into his fellow soldiers, sending the whole group tumbling into the water below. He and Zoro quickly disappeared into the fray. Sabo adjusted his gloves and settled his gaze on the nearest group pulling themselves onto the deck.

"Gentlemen," he said.

They saw him coming but could do nothing to stop him. Sabo launched them all overboard with a myriad of broken bones. Seeing that the deck was clear, Sabo kicked off the railing. He landed hard on the shoulders of a marine, sending him face-first into the sand as Sabo rolled away. All the remaining marines on the beach went down in a hail of fiery bullets.

In the lull as the remaining soldiers retreated and regrouped, Sabo stood still. Ace approached slowly, as though fearing he would disappear.

"Sabo?" Ace asked cautiously. "You're looking…better."

"Not passed out on a cot, you mean," Sabo said. "Yes, I'm feeling better, too."

Ace knitted his brows. "Do you…" He paused, restarted. "How's your head? Koala said you had a headache."

"A bit jumbled," Sabo admitted, "but clearer than it's been in years."

Ace's shoulders straightened in hope. "You—"

"I remember."

Relief and joy swept across Ace's expression, washing away the trepidation and fatigue. In that moment, there were no soldiers, no battle scars, no years standing between them: Ace closed the distance and threw his arms around Sabo, staggering them both. Laughing a little—more incredulity than anything—Sabo reciprocated, bunching his fingers in the material of Ace's shirt.

"You remember," Ace repeated into Sabo's shoulder.

"All the important parts, I think."

Ace drew back, staring into Sabo's eyes, and Sabo finally realized that Ace had been looking for that spark of recognition all along. Swallowing, Ace stepped away and awkwardly glanced around. The marines had drawn back for now, but they would attack again eventually.

"And you're not…I mean, I didn't try to tell you."

Sabo shook his head. "That was probably for the best. I don't think I would have believed you, or if I did, I wouldn't have had any memories to go with it." He paused. "I think I understand why you acted the way you did when we first met a lot better now."

Ace snorted. "Really."

"I did wonder why you trusted me so easily."

"Sabo?"

Sabo turned, and there was Luffy, stopped on the edge of the sand and staring with wide eyes. Luffy glanced at Ace, who nodded just once, at that was all the confirmation Luffy needed.

This time, staggering didn't save Sabo; Luffy tackled him to the ground, sending up a puff of sand.

"Hello—to you—too—Luffy," Sabo gasped. He got a brief glimpse of Ace a second later. Time slowed. Ace was smiling. Not that euphoric, incredulous smile from earlier, but a quiet, warm expression that Sabo had never seen on him before.

It suited him.

"Ace!"

And just like that, the smile disappeared. Cold and focused once more, Ace turned as Sabo sat up, Luffy still clinging to him. Koala shot out of a nearby alley, skidding to a stop at the edge of the beach.

"Ace, they—Sabo?"

"Hi, Koala."

"You're okay now?"

"More or less."

"Glad to hear it. You'll never guess who I spotted while you were all fighting."

Sabo narrowed his eyes. Koala was leaning forward a little, her eyes alight with anticipation—vengeance, almost. She kept sneaking glances at Ace.

"Jaus," he guessed.

"No, it's—how did you guess that?"

"Limited options," Sabo said.

"Where is he?" Ace asked, the frost in his voice freezing over the previous conversation. Even Luffy looked taken aback, and his crew, who had been steadily approaching, decided to keep their distance.

Koala blinked. "Uh. He, uh, went into the base."

Fire flared along Ace's shoulders. "I'll burn it down."

"Not that one," Koala said, sliding in front of him and holding her hands up. Ace paused, confused. "The black site. It's real. I saw it. And I can lead you to it. We have to hurry—they're preparing to evacuate. We have less than an hour before their ships are fully supplied and ready to sail."

The air around Ace was shimmering again. "Let's go, then."

"Wait," Luffy said. Ace scowled.

"What? He's not getting away from me this time. I won't let him."

"I can't leave Merry."

Sabo looked past Luffy. His ship had taken a beating during the days of fighting; Usopp was desperately repairing the worst of it, but if they all left, the marines would torch it without hesitation. A pirate wasn't a pirate without a ship.

"We'll stay." Sanji took a drag from his cigarette and nodded at Ace. "This is personal, isn't it? Not something I want to interfere with, honestly."

Zoro grunted his agreement. "I'm not about to get between a man and his demons."

"And I think the ship is just a better place for me to be at a time like this," Nami said. "Because it's safer—I mean, because I have a really good eye for detail and could help Usopp with repairs."

After a brief moment of hesitation, Luffy nodded.

"We'll keep her safe, captain," Sanji said. "You focus on this."

The three brothers turned to Koala. Without a word, she led the way through a twisting maze of alleys and side streets, only to abruptly drop down into a sewer drain. When Sabo followed, he saw that Ace had let his fire burn as light, helping them all avoid taking an unfortunate dive into the channels running next to the path. It wasn't the most unpleasant place Sabo had ever travelled through on a mission, but it wasn't the nicest, either. Behind him, Luffy gagged.

They ran for several minutes before Koala abruptly stopped. Ace nearly ran into her but sidestepped at the last possible moment. Koala glanced right, then left, then up.

"I think…yes, this is it."

"There's nothing here," Ace said.

"That's what they want you to think." Koala marched right up to the slime-coated wall and pressed a hand against it. Sabo's stomach turned a little bit at the squelching noise, and even Koala, for all her confidence, gained a queasy tint to her expression. The brick she'd pressed retreated into the wall. A second later, to the sound of grinding gears, an entire section of wall slid out of the way, revealing a pristine tunnel.

"It leads into the facility's main lobby," Koala said. "They'll know we just opened the door. Jaus will escape if you don't move fast."

Ace's whole body flickered, an inferno just barely contained. Luffy's skin shimmered with the beginnings of true armament haki. Sabo flexed his fingers, feeling the joints crack. Tearful reunions were well and good, but theirs was a bond forged in blood and fire. It was only fitting to restore it the same way.

"Let him try."

* * *

 _ **Please review.**_


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